Thursday, 19 February 2015

There basically three types of calendars being actively used around the
world – solar, lunar and lunisolar/solilunar calendars. A solar
calendar is concerned with the Earth’s rotation around the Sun. Lunar
calendars are based on the rotation of the Moon around Earth and are
used mainly for religious purposes, Lunisolar or Solilunar calendars
combine the two kinds and are basically solar calendars with dates
indicating the moon phase.
The Chinese calendar is an example of a
solilunar calendar with 12-year cycles, each related to a specific
animal, with 12 months in each year and an intercalary month every two
to three years.
In Chinese, the word 羊 (yáng) is a generic term,
and can refer to a sheep (绵羊), goat (山羊), ram/buck (公羊 male sheep or
goat), 羚羊 (antelope), etc. However, most Chinese people and experts on
folklore believe that the Chinese zodiac animal is the Goat, not the
Sheep.

In addition to the twelve year cycle corresponding to each
of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac, there are Five Elements (wood,
fire, earth, metal, water) which are associated with their own "life
force" or "chi". This energy blends with the corresponding animal to determine that year's fortune.
In 2015, the corresponding element is Wood. Wood by its very nature, is
the element associated with all living things, the "spring" or life
renewal process. Wood relates to trees which relate to the color green. The Year of the Goat is therefore also known as the Year of the Green
or Wood Goat.
In Chinese astrology Goats are described as loving-peace,
kind and popular. With the addition of the wood element, the Goat
characteristic is thought to symbolize peace, helpfullness and trust -
all great qualities which the world could certainly use lots of right
now.

Wednesday afternoon Feb 18th was also the second Aquarius
new moon in a row this year (the first, a supermoon, was on Jan. 20).
Normally there is only one new moon per zodiac sign each year. Both
Aquarius moons represent purification, letting go of
objects/people/jobs/ that are no longer serving you, and making space
for new energies that resonate more with who you really are...

As
im sure many will realize, we are all connected to each other and all
things in this immense cosmos, and as such the emanations of nature that
affect our lives are simultaneously both simple and complex. Some may
hesitate to accept signs of nature as meaningful in any way and choose
instead to say that we meerely empower our own concepts with magic and
mystery, but I would counter that the very language of symbols and
symbolism that we express these terms in and through is itself the
result of nature observed.

To quote Albert Einstein:.
“A
human being is a part of the whole, called by us Universe, a part
limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and
feelings as something separated from the rest-a kind of optical delusion
of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison, restricting us
to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to
us. Our task must be to free from this prison by widening our circle of
compassion (and understanding) to embrace all living creatures and the
whole nature in its beauty.”